News Corp. selling US$700m Sky NZ stake

News Corp. is selling its 44% stake in Sky New Zealand. Its share in the Kiwi pay TV platform is expected to raise the media giant about US$700 million.

Trading in Sky shares was halted as the sale of the News’ share went ahead and is expected to recommend on March 6. Michael Miller, a regional director of News Limited, will resign from the board of Sky following the company’s exit.

Sky issued a statement that said the shares will go to a range of institutional and retail investors.

Chase Carey, president and COO, News Corporation said: “We and SKY have always enjoyed an excellent, arms-length working relationship and we expect this to continue unaffected by the sale. In particular, we do not anticipate any change to current arrangements regarding access to content and collaboration on technology.”